marijuana

Some towns in Massachusetts have given up enforcing the state's marijuana law which decriminalized the possession of small amounts of pot, saying the law is written with too many loopholes to be effective.

That's a strange headline and some of you may think it's just a headline to draw attention, but that's exactly what happened near Caddo Mills, Texas -- marijuana fell from the sky. Caddo Mills is a town of about 1200 citizens located about 35 miles northeast of Dallas, and early Monday morning several residents of the town heard a thud on their roofs.

This three-minute animation by Haik Hoisington contrasts a society that legally produces and consumes a pleasure- giving flower with a society where the same flower is illegal and prohibited. The animation reflects on the social and economic costs of marijuana prohibition.

Under the plan, which would take effect in January, license recipients would be heavily taxed and regulated. They would have to pay the city $211,000 in annual permit fees, carry $2 million in liability insurance and be prepared to devote up to 8 percent of gross sales to taxes.

The measure also would require bidders to meet certain labor, environmental and product safety standards.

On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, signed a bill prohibiting possession of K2. Missouri is the nation’s eighth state this year to ban the substance, which has sent users to emergency rooms across the country complaining of everything from elevated heart rates and paranoia to vomiting and hallucinations.

Hailey police officers won't be trying to bust anyone for smoking marijuana in the privacy of their own home from now on—not since the City Council adopted three weeks ago a lowest-police-priority ordinance with regard to misdemeanor marijuana offenses.

Earl Stein's "Organic Pharmacy" is one of more than 400 medical-marijuana dispensaries the City Council aimed to shut down with an ordinance that took effect recently. But he hasn't closed up shop completely. He has merely removed his marijuana inventory for now, and hopes discrimination lawsuits filed against the city by himself and other dispensary operators will force officials to let him resume the trade....

More than 400 dispensaries are under orders to close in accordance with the city's news medical marijuana ordinance. Eventually, the city hopes to whittle the number of pot shops down to 70 and to limit outlets to industrial areas.